Bad Monkey

Bad Monkey (2013) by American journalist and author Carl Hiaasen, combines the author’s signature humor with mystery. Known for his satirical take on environmental and political issues, Hiaasen delivers a story set in the Florida Keys and the Bahamas that centers on a disgraced detective turned health inspector as he navigates a tangled web of greed, corruption, and murder. The book, along with its sequel, Razor Girl, were optioned into a TV series.

A native of southern Florida, Hiaasen began his career as an investigative journalist. He later wrote a celebrated column for the Miami Herald, using his platform to expose local political scandals and environmental issues. Hiaasen has authored more than 15 novels for adults, several middle grade mysteries, and six nonfiction works, often exploring corruption, social justice, and environmental degradation. Recognized for his contributions to both journalism and literature, Hiaasen has received accolades such as the National Society of Newspaper Columnists’ Lifetime Achievement Award and the Damon Runyon Award from the Denver Press Club.

This guide references the 2013 Knopf e-book edition.

Content Warning: The source material features depictions of sexual assault, drug use, violence, gore, racist language, sexist language, exploitation of a minor, animal abuse, and suicide.

Plot Summary

When a tourist reels in a severed human arm in the Florida Keys, local sheriff Sonny Summers immediately calls on Andrew Yancy, a disgraced and suspended former detective, to handle the situation. Sonny instructs Yancy to take the arm to Miami, where cases of dismemberment are more frequent, and insists that Yancy relinquish the case there. However, the Miami-Dade Assistant Coroner, Dr. Rosa Campesino, finds no additional body parts to link to the arm and refuses to accept it. Yancy’s former colleague advises him to “lose” the arm on the way back to the Keys, but Yancy, unable to resist investigating, keeps the arm in his freezer.

Suspended from the force after assaulting his girlfriend’s husband, Clifford Witt, Yancy lost his detective position in a plea deal and reluctantly accepted a restaurant inspector position, which he despises. His ex-girlfriend Bonnie Witt tells Yancy she’s moving to Sarasota with her husband, Clifford. She also admits to Yancy that she’s a fugitive from Oklahoma, charged with sexually exploiting one of her 15-year-old students.

Soon after, Eve Stripling contacts the police when she recognizes the arm as belonging to her missing husband, Nick, based on social media posts from the tourist. Eve claims she was traveling in Europe and was unaware her husband was missing for weeks. The DNA from the arm matches Nick’s, and Eve retrieves the arm for a funeral, but her stepdaughter, Caitlin Cox, accuses her of foul play. Yancy, also suspicious of Eve, decides to investigate further to regain his detective badge.

The case takes a darker turn when Charles Phinney, the mate from the fishing boat that initially found the arm, is shot. Phinney’s girlfriend reveals that he received a considerable sum of money to stage the arm’s discovery, and the woman who hired him matches Eve’s description. Rosa notes a distinct tan line on the arm indicating an expensive, limited-edition Tourbillon watch.

As Yancy digs deeper, he learns that Nick Stripling amassed a fortune from Medicare fraud, stealing identities and using them to order costly medical equipment that was never delivered. Nick was under FBI investigation. A co-conspirator, Dr. Gomez O’Peele, provides Yancy with more information about the fraud, only to die by apparent suicide shortly thereafter. Yancy sneaks into the Striplings’ condo and finds bone fragments and hair in the shower drain, along with a hatchet in the dishwasher. On a hunch, Yancy has Rosa investigate the shotgun shells from Phinney’s murder and O’Peele’s death, and she finds that they match. This evidence strengthens Yancy’s suspicions. However, when Caitlin abruptly loses interest in pursuing the case after Eve promises her a share of the insurance payout, Yancy must proceed independently despite warnings to cease investigating.

A masked man resembling Phinney’s killer attempts to drown Yancy, who narrowly escapes by hiding in the mangroves. This brush with death only intensifies Yancy’s resolve, and he grows closer to Rosa, with whom he begins a romantic relationship.

Bonnie soon reappears in the Keys with her former victim from Oklahoma, who is now an adult. She asks to stay with Yancy, but he declines.

Acting on a lead, Yancy travels to Andros Island in the Bahamas, where he learns that Eve’s new boyfriend, Christopher Grunion, is involved with Neville Stafford, a local man whose family lands were sold to real estate developer Grunion. Neville, desperate to reclaim his land, hires a voodoo practitioner known as the “Dragon Queen” to curse Grunion, trading his troublesome pet monkey, Driggs, to the Dragon Queen in exchange. However, the Dragon Queen, who is dating Grunion’s security guard “Egg,” mocks Neville’s efforts.

Yancy and Rosa develop a plan to trap Eve and her boyfriend by having Rosa pose as a buyer for their property. Rosa leaves, and Neville recounts his efforts to curse Christopher, including stealing a cut-off sleeve from the trash. Yancy realizes that Eve’s new boyfriend may be Nick Stripling, who faked his death to evade the FBI. Rushing to confront them, Yancy finds himself held at gunpoint by Nick, who had his arm amputated by his co-conspirator, Dr. Gomez O’Peele, to make his staged death more convincing. Before Nick can kill Yancy, Neville intervenes, stabbing Nick with Yancy’s broken fly rod, allowing them to escape.

The group takes refuge from a hurricane and ultimately convinces the Striplings’ pilot to fly them back to Miami, stranding Nick and Eve on Andros. Yancy alerts the FBI, and the increased surveillance by Bahamian authorities strains the Striplings’ relationship. In a final twist of karma, Eve drugs Nick, dumps him into shark-infested waters, and, speeding away, crashes her boat on a coral outcropping, meeting her own death.

In a misguided attempt to win Yancy back, Bonnie sets fire to a neighboring spec house that obstructs Yancy’s view. This act not only lands Bonnie in legal trouble but also effectively removes the eyesore and restores the area for wildlife. Oklahoma authorities plan to extradite her, but Bonnie hopes to plead temporary insanity and remain in the Keys.

Yancy persuades the FBI to spare Neville’s family land by fabricating a story about a powerful silent partner in Nick’s dealings. Though Sonny insists that Yancy must wait a year before being reinstated due to the media storm around Bonnie, Yancy and Rosa find a sense of closure and peace, enjoying an unobstructed sunset and the return of nature to the landscape.